The present invention relates to network computing, and more specifically, to service agreement performance validation and conformance in a cloud hosted environment.
Network-managed data by service providers has become increasingly popular, as the amount of data utilized by business enterprises, organizations, and even by some individuals has increased. The costs associated with hardware and storage devices, as well as their associated bandwidth requirements have made network-managed solutions more desirable.
Service agreements (also known as service level agreements, or SLAs) between a host provider and a customer typically include terms that specify a quality of service (QoS) that is to be expected for activities conducted within the hosting environment. For example, costs for receiving host services can vary depending on the number of applications hosted, the number of instances of an application running (e.g., for redundancy and load balancing), and the times and site locations of the hosting (e.g., the data center selected for the hosting). While the service agreements spell out these terms, currently there is no way for the host provider to assure the customer that performance under the terms of the agreement is fully satisfied. Likewise, there is no way for the customer to validate compliance by the host provider.